Game



Nov. 20, 1962 1.. P. RALSTON 3,064,979

GAME

Filed Oct. 17, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 18

ATTO R N EY5 T FIG. 5

BRUS SE L 5 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MPMW Q @ZJQ GAME

L. P. RALSTON FIG.

Nov. 20, 1962 Filed Oct. 17, 1961 FIG. 7

3,%4,9?9 Patented Nov. 20, 1962 3,064,979 GAME Lawrence P. Ralston, West Hill Road, Stamford, Conn.

Filed Oct. 17, 1961. Ser. No. 145,647 Claims. (Cl. 273135) This invention relates to games and is concerned more particularly with a novel game involving a contest among players, the outcome of which is determined in part by their skill and in part by chance. The playing of the game familiarizes the players with the countries of the world and their capitals and the game thus has both entertainment and educational value.

The new game may be played with diiferent objectives but, for all forms, the apparatus used includes a game board carrying a map of an area including a plurality of countries, the map showing the capitals of the countries and being divided by lines into squares of equal size. A plurality of playing pieces referred to as wall-pieces are provided and the wall-pieces vary in length with each of a length which is a whole multiple of the side of a square. During the play, the wall-pieces are to be laid along the boundary lines of the squares and the laying of a wallpiece by a player is determined by a card drawn by him from a set. Each such card corresponds to a country or other political entity on the map and carries indicia specitying the length of the wall-piece to be laid on the board and, in most cases, the square, along a side of which the wall-piece is to be laid. The objective of each player in one form of the game is to lay wall-pieces on the board in such a way to enclose the maximum number of capitals, while, in another form of the game, the objective is to lay the wall-pieces to enclose as few capitals as possible.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGS. 1A and 1B are plan views of complementary parts of a board used in playing the new game, the board carrying a map of an area containing the capitals of most of the countries of the world;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan viewof a part ofthe game board on an enlarged scale with a number of wallpieces played;

FIG. 3 is a view of the face of one of the cards employed in playing the game;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a wallpiece; and

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are plan views showing the manner in which the wall-pieces may be laid on the board.

The board 1% may be of any material which is light in weight and relatively stifi", and a heavy paperboard is suitable for the purpose. The board illustrated carries a map of the world showing most of the countries and their capitals together with the sites of other political entities and the areas of the map occupied by the countries and entities are subdivided by lines ll. into squares 12 of equal size. At the locations of the capitals and the sites of the political entities, openings are formed in the board and a marker 12a, which may be a small flag or a headed peg, is placed in each opening. Accordingly, each square containing one or more markers may for convenience be referred to as a flag-site. If desired, the markers may be of different colors, each color representing the population bracket in which the population of the related country falls. Thus, the markers for the capitals of the United States, the U.S.S.R., India, and Red China may be of the same color, for example, blue, to indicate that the population of each of these countries exceeds 100 million. Along the top and bottom of the board are the numerals 1 to 56 identifying the columns of squares and along the vertical sides of the map are the letters A to Y identifying the horizontal rows of squares. The numerals and letters thus provide co-ordinates by which the locations of the flag-sites may be identified.

On the map illustrated, there are markers showing the location of capitals and the sites of the Vatican City State and the United Nations, and, in playing the game on a board with the map described, a set of 117 cards is employed. The cards are of two types and 109 of the cards are similar to the card 13, shown in FIG. 3. These cards may be referred to as the ordinary cards and each one carries the name of a nation, in this case, Belgium, the name of its capital, Brussels, and the map co-ordinates D-22 of its flag-site or capital. In addition, the card carries a representation 14 of the flag of the country, the number, in this case 7, indicating the ranking of the nation alphabetically, and the number of letters, in this case 8, in the name of capital. If desired, the card may also carry a number indicating the population bracket in which the population of the nation falls. The number on the card corresponding to the number of letters in the name of the capital of the country is the length of a wallpiece, which the drawing of the card entitles the player to play.

The remaining nine cards of the pack may be referred to as special cards and they represent small countries or political entities. The special cards carry all the indicia appearing on an ordinary card and, in addition, a number or symbol which determines the length of the wall-piece to be played when the card is drawn. A wallpiece corresponding to a special card may be placed anywhere on the map, provided it completes an enclosure. Of the special cards, those for Luxembourg and Monaco entitle the player drawing them to play wall-pieces of a length of three units and two units, respectively, while the special cards for Andorra, Bhutan, Liechtenstein, and San Marino permit the player to play a wall-piece one unit long. The special card for the Vatican City State entitles the player to lay wall-pieces on the map to form a right angle with the wall-pieces so laid containing any number of units up to sixteen. The final special card represents the United Nations and permits the player drawing it to place wall-pieces upon the map to form a straight line which completes one or more enclosures, the wall-pieces containing such a total of units as may be required for the purpose.

The wall-pieces used may take the form of an inverted metal trough 15 having flanges 16 extending outwardly from the lower edges of its side walls 17, so that the wallpiece may be placed in stable position upon the map. Each wall-piece has a length, which is a whole multiple of the length of one of the sides of a square 12 on the map, and, at each end, the top 18 of the wall-piece has an extension 18:: which is adapted to overlie a corresponding extension of an aligned and abutting wall-piece, as shown in FIG. 5, or the top of a wall-piece lying at right angles, as shown in FIG. 6. A wall-piece having a length equal to two or more times the length of the side of a square is subdivided into units 1812, each having the length of the side of a square, by cutting away the flanges and side walls as indicated at 19. This permits two wallpieces to be laid in crossing relation, as shown in FIG. 7.

In playing one form of the game, the objective is to lay well-pieces on the map in such manner as to form complete enclosures containing flag-sites and the player enclosing the greatest number of such flag-sites is the winner. At the beginning of play, the pack of cards is shuffled and the first player draws one card from the pack. If an ordinary card is drawn, the player lays on the map a wall-piece containing the same number of units as there are letters in the name of the capital of the nation represented by the card and the wall-piece must be placed along one of the boundaries of the square, in which the capital lies. Thus, if the card 13 for Belgium is drawn, the player lays an eight-unit wall-piece on the map and he may place this wall-piece along any of the four sides of the square D-22 containing the Belgian capital Brussels. Upon making the play, the card first drawn is discarded and the player then draws four new cards from the pack to form his hand. If the first card drawn is a special card, the player makes no play but retains the card and draws three additional cards from the pack to complete his hand of four. The other players play successively as described.

Beginning with the second round, the play is subject to rules as follows. In laying a wall-piece as determined by an ordinary card, the wall-piece must cover one side of the square designated by the card and must never extend beyond the edge of the map or enter an enclosure. Wallpieces may overlap only by the amount of their projections 18a and they may be placed to meet to form a right angle. A player may play two or more cards in one turn, if the Wall-pieces called for by the cards can be laid in a straight line without overlapping along the sides of squares indicated by the cards. Also, a player may play two or more cards in one turn if he can place the wallpieces as determined by the cards so as to form a right angle. He may also play a card which requires a wallpiece to be placed to cross another wall-piece on the map but may not himself play cards and place corresponding wall-pieces to form a crossing. On play from a full hand of four cards, a player may play a special card, if it is possible to do so, in accordance with the instructions carried by the card.

The play continues with the players playing their cards and placing their wall-pieces, until all the cards have been drawn and all the players have played in rotation as many times as possible. The game is then at an end and each player who has walled off a square or oblong area, is credited with all the flag-sites within it, unless the enclosed area has been walled up within a larger one. In the latter event, all the flag-sites within the larger area are credited to the player whose move completed it. Whenever an area is enclosed, unplayed cards corresponding to a flagsite within the area are to be discarded and, similarly, if new cardsdrawn represent enclosed flag-sites, these cards are discarded at once. The players final score is the total number of markers or flags on the flag-sites which he has enclosed, minus the total letter count of the unplayable cards remaining in his hand. Thus, if a player retains the card 13 at the end of play, his total number of markers is reduced by eight, which is the letter count of the card for Belgium and is the number of letters in the name of the capital.

In another form of the game, the play is as described, but the objective is to lay the wall-pieces on the map in such manner as to avoid enclosing flag-sites. The wallpieces must be placed as the cards drawn direct but, in placing a wall-piece along one of the boundaries of a flagsite on the map, the player attempts to lay the wall-piece in such manner that an enclosure will not be formed. At the end of play of this form of the game, the score of a player is the total number of markers on the fiag sites which he has been obliged to enclose plus the total letter count of flag-sites represented by the cards which he has been unable to play.

In another form of the game, the objective is to enclose flag-sites of countries containing the maximum total population and the cards and markers used carry numbers identifying the population bracket containing the population of the nation or political entity represented. Such numbers indicate the relative sizes of the brackets so that a total of the numbers on the flages in an enclosed flag-site is a measure of the total population of the nations and political entities in the enclosed area.

In a fourth form of the game, the play is as described but the objective is to enclose the smallest total population when the wall-pieces are played as determined by the cards drawn.

In all forms of the new game, the element of chance is present, since the play is controlled by the cards drawn. However, a player may place a wall-piece along any unoccupied side of a flag-site determined by a card drawn and, on occasion, a player has a choice of cards to play. He may, accordingly, exercise skill in playing his cards in such a way as to produce the most advantageous results.

I claim:

1. A game which comprises a board carrying a map of an area including a plurality of countries, the map showing the capitals of the countries and being divided by lines into squares of eqal size, a plurality of wallpieces of different lengths, the length of each wall-piece being a whole multiple of the length of the side of one of the squares, the wall-pieces being adapted to be placed along the lines defining the squares containing capitals, and a pack of cards corresponding to respective countries, each card specifying the square along a boundary line of which the player drawing the card may place a wall-piece, and stating the length of the wall-piece to be so placed.

2. The game of claim 1, in which the pack of cards includes a group of special cards corresponding to respective political enties, each special card stating the length of a wall-piece to be placed along a boundary line of a square selected by the player drawing such card to complete the enclosure of an area by wall-pieces. I

3. The game of claim 2, in which one special card authorizes the player drawing the card to place a pair of wall-pieces along two intersecting boundary lines of the same square.

4. The game of claim 1, in which each capital on the map is identified by a marker inserted into an opening in the board at the side of the capital.

5. The game of claim 4, in which the markers carry different indicia identifying different brackets of population.

References ited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,616,216 Dempsey Feb. 1, 1927 

